HALSEY – The U.S. Forest Service says it will conduct a series of prescribed burns at the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest as weather allows beginning this week and continuing through early May. The broadcast burns are planned on up to 5,000 acres of native grasslands on the Bessey Ranger District.
The prescribed burns are intended to reduce the encroachment of Eastern red cedar trees into the native prairie. Staff on the District have already cut and piled about 3,000 acres of large Eastern red cedar trees off the grasslands this year. Experience from past years shows that broadcast burning kills about 90 percent of the young Eastern red cedar trees, three feet tall or less and up to half of the larger ones.
Officials say that because they can cover large acreages, burning is the most economical method of preventing cedar encroachment. Low-intensity fire is a natural disturbance process that can rejuvenate the grasslands and promote forbs that support pollinators.
Prescribed fires are managed with constant firefighter observation, and public safety is priority.
Smoke from the prescribed burns may be visible from Thedford, Dunning, Stapleton, Purdum, Highway 2, Highway 83, and other areas around the Middle Loup and Dismal Rivers. Lingering smoke may be present for up to one week after ignitions are complete.
Notifications of operations will be posted on the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands Facebook page on the days of the prescribed burns. Anyone who has questions or would like to be notified personally on the day the burns take place, please call the front desk at 308-533-2257 or email and they will get you in touch with the appropriate contact.
